UAE, Saudi emerge as global investment giants in 2024
The UAE and Saudi Arabia emerged as global investment giants in 2024, ranking within the world's largest 20 capital importers and exporters.
With foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow of around $45.5 billion last year, the UAE was the 10th largest recipient of foreign capital in 2024.
In its 2025 World Investment Report released at the weekend, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said Saudi Arabia was ranked 20th, with FDI inflow of nearly $15.7 billion last year.
Both Gulf oil producers also emerged as among the top 20 capital exporters, with FDI flow from the UAE standing at $23.4 billion and that from Saudi Arabia at $22 billion.
The UAE, the second largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia, was also second only to the US in the number of announced greenfield projects, with 1,369 launched in 2024.
Despite a global slowdown in greenfield project growth to 0.8 per cent, the UAE posted a 2.8 per cent increase, with announced greenfield project capital reaching $14.5 billion.
Key sectors driving this growth include software and IT services (11.5 per cent of total greenfield project value), business services (9.7 per cent), renewable energy (9.3 per cent), coal, oil, and gas (9 per cent), and real estate (7.8 per cent).
UAE Investment Minister Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi has attributed the high inflows to strategic reforms and long-term policy direction.
'The UAE's investment ecosystem has become a global model, thanks to its stability, transparency, trade openness, and ease of doing business,' he said recently.
UNCTAD's report showed FDI flow into the UAE and Saudi Arabia accounted for nearly 83 percent of the 2024 capital flow into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which also groups Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
FDI flow into the GCC totaled around $73.5 billion last year, up from $67 billion in 2023. Flow out of the six members rose to $58.5 billion from $52 billion in the same period.
(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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